Read an interesting article about work-life balance for lawyers, which was a little extreme. Basically article was saying lawyers who crave for work-life balance are just whiners and losers who give up along the way because cannot cope with the demands of the profession and aren't cut out for the big cases. Article also goes on to say that there is no such thing as work-life balance in the legal world.
My personal view? I disagree.
My personal view? I disagree.
Of course, everyone gives up along the way. Everyone slows down, sooner or later. My pupil-master, the fount of loads of sage advice - once told me this: The law is a jealous mistress. What does it mean? What does it all mean? What is the meaning of life? I hear your thought bubbles loud and clear, folks. It basically just means that being an avatar of the law sucks all the time, energy, everything out of you. Whatever you have: family, fun, futsal, food, etc: the law is jealous of and will compete for your undivided attention against them.
The thing is, I've always been a firm believer that work-life balance IS ACHIEVABLE, but only after you have learnt your trade and solidified your foundations. And to do that, in the shortest time possible, is to sacrifice pretty much everything else. Time, sleep, health, eyesight, relationships, pretty much everything. There is always a cost to achieving something.
Without learning your trade, you won't be able to have a healthy work-life balance. Most probably because you won't have work. No employer will reward or encourage mediocrity. So at some point, you're going to have to work hard to improve yourself. If the employer doesn't get rid of you, it's only because they're kind-hearted people who hope you get the hint and move your reeking pile of mediocrity elsewhere before you're found out. I know that there's a bit of a leap in the above logic. It's deliberate. "Having a healthy work-life balance doesn't NOT mean that you'll be mediocre", you argue. Of course not.
Without learning your trade, you won't be able to have a healthy work-life balance. Most probably because you won't have work. No employer will reward or encourage mediocrity. So at some point, you're going to have to work hard to improve yourself. If the employer doesn't get rid of you, it's only because they're kind-hearted people who hope you get the hint and move your reeking pile of mediocrity elsewhere before you're found out. I know that there's a bit of a leap in the above logic. It's deliberate. "Having a healthy work-life balance doesn't NOT mean that you'll be mediocre", you argue. Of course not.
But...
To be continued...
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